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Personality constructs and measures
Author(s) -
Teglasi Hedwig,
Simcox April G.,
Kim NaYoung
Publication year - 2007
Publication title -
psychology in the schools
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.738
H-Index - 75
eISSN - 1520-6807
pISSN - 0033-3085
DOI - 10.1002/pits.20218
Subject(s) - construct (python library) , psychology , personality , presumption , construct validity , perspective (graphical) , causality (physics) , social psychology , cognitive psychology , meaning (existential) , psychometrics , developmental psychology , artificial intelligence , psychotherapist , physics , quantum mechanics , computer science , political science , law , programming language
Abstract A psychological construct, such as personality, is an abstraction that is not directly seen but inferred through observed regularities in cognitive, affective, and behavioral responses in various settings. Two assumptions give meaning to the idea of construct validity. First, constructs represent real phenomena that exist apart from the potential ways in which they are measured. Second, constructs have a causal relation to their measures (see D. Boorsboom, G.J. Mellenbergh, & J. van Heerden, 2004). According to these twin assumptions, variation in a construct such as personality or intelligence causes individual differences in responses to items on measures; it also accounts for performance in real life settings. An alternative perspective equates a construct with the operation used for its measurement (M. Friedman, 1991) without a presumption of causality. This article elaborates on the implications of different assumptions about measurement, operation‐referenced and construct‐referenced , for advancing the science and practice of psychology. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Psychol Schs 44: 215–228, 2007.